High School Softball: Gulf Breeze's historic start continues with run-rule win over West Florida

What's the formula to staying perfect?

For the Gulf Breeze girls softball team and head coach Chelsea McGehee, it's not discussing it.

"We're not talking about the fact that we're undefeated and the message is that there's no pressure to stay perfect," she said. "The pressure is work hard every single day in practice and continue to earn it. Whenever we're playing this kind of ball, we're going to have a target."

Pressure makes diamonds and not many teams this season have played as well on the softball diamond than the Dolphins, who improved their record to 16-0 after defeating West Florida 17-2 in three innings on Tuesday from Gulf Breeze High School.

The Dolphins are off to their best start through 16 games since going 14-2 to kick off the 2015 season. They are ranked second in Class 5A and 18th overall according to the latest FHSAA rankings.

Entering Wednesday, Gulf Breeze and Pace (16-0) are the area's last two unbeaten teams.

"They're just a quality program," Jaguars head coach Belinda Pitman said. "Chelsea is a great coach over there and they got some kids. She just really built this program up and they just come swinging the bat hard. ... I'm excited for them and I hope they go far."

The Dolphin bats were certainly on display Tuesday night as nine players racked up 14 hits, 10 of which went for extra bases. Jacey Reed, Kaylee King, Sophie Mislevy and Ava Chapman each smashed home runs.

After West Florida sent eight batters to the plate and took a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning, the home team responded with six runs in the bottom of the frame. Following a Leila Ammon sacrifice fly, King went deep on a solo shot to make it a 2-2 ballgame. Mislevy and Morgan Kronlage followed with RBI doubles, Chapman added an RBI single while the final run was scored on an error.

The Dolphins plated one run in the second before putting the game away with nine in the third. Reed blasted a three-run home run. Mislevy and Chapman went back-to-back to end the night.

Mislevy and Reed drove in four runs apiece to pace the victors. King and Kenna King each had two RBIs.

Brea Holley knocked in both of the Jaguars runs as her RBI single brought home Sydney Scapin and Leianna Wagner. Scapin, West Florida's No. 1 pitcher, was not in circle. Instead, Hailee Raymond pitched the first inning while Hannah Hollingsworth tossed the rest of the game.

Meanwhile, Ammon was the winning pitcher in relief. All eight outs the Middle Tennessee State commit recorded came via strikeout. She allowed one hit and two walks.

Here's three takeaways from Tuesday's game.

Short-term memory

On the pitch before she went deep, Mislevy clubbed a ball that had home-run distance but drifted foul. The senior catcher regrouped, straighten out her swing and launched next pitch over the left-field fence.

"I was really trying not to get ahead of myself. You get excited when you rock the first one," she said. "I just stayed calm and waited on it."

As patient as Mislevy was at the plate during that at-bat, the team as a whole is relentless.

Gulf Breeze averages 9.8 runs per game and has scored 157 times this season, topping the area in each category. The squad can beat you multiple ways offensively, as it ranks second in the area with batting average (.378) and home runs (19).

After producing two hits on Tuesday, Kenna King is hitting .438 to pace the team. She is one eight players with 40 plate appearances to be batting above .300.

Meanwhile, Reed slugged her Dolphins-best seventh home run of the season. That came after starting the night in the circle and allowing five of six West Florida batters to reach. Still, her pitching struggles did not impact her offensive approach.

"That's what I love about this team, it's that we're a true team," McGehee said. "We had a tough start with our starting pitcher tonight, but we knew that the team would have her back. (Reed) went 2-for-3 tonight, so what a way to have short-term memory, get over it and keep playing."

Comfort level

With Reed struggling to get outs, Ammon was inserted to be a fire-stopper. She took care of business, although she was worried going in.

"My dropball was working really well, where normally it's my riseball. So it's great to have two pitches I was comfortable with," Ammon said. "But in the bullpen, it wasn't my best showing, so I was a little bit nervous."

The junior credited Mislevy, her batterymate, for allowing her to ease into the game. The duo has played with each other their whole lives and have built a solid connection.

"I just get so proud of her. Because I've known her play for so long, I've just watched her grow into an amazing player," Mislevy said of Ammon. "Every pitch, every play, she's working her butt off and I tell. So it's exciting to watch and catch for her."

'Light down the tunnel'

On the heels of two consecutive districts titles, Gulf Breeze may be in line for something greater this year, something the program has yet to accomplish: a trip to state.

Like their perfect season thus far, the Dolphins aren't concerned with that goal at the moment. But that doesn't mean they don't believe they aren't capable. And every signal from 2023 seems to indicate that they are.

"I think of all the teams that we've had, this is the one," Mislevy said.

Ammon added: "We don't necessary stress it because we can't force anything to happen, but that definitely is the light down the tunnel."

Gulf Breeze plays at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at Milton. On the same night, West Florida (10-7) is host to South Warren (Ky.).

Patrick Bernadeau is a sports reporter for the Pensacola News Journal. He can be reached at (850) 503-3828, on Twitter @PatBernadeau or via email at pbernadeau@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Softball: Gulf Breeze keeps rolling, beats West Florida to stay perfect